I'm not Jewish nor Palestinian, I'm not a professional Diplomat, but still I think it's a fair question to ask how can this new Peace initiative possibly work without hearing from all the concerned parties in the Middle East? There will be no Peace without acknowledgment, much less consideration for all the groups, parties, factions or what have you in these presently Israeli occupied territories. From Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon plus the Fatah or whoever is pretending to be in charge. No more proxies, it's time for peace and time for all to have a voice in the process. And this means a seat at the table and a stake in the results. Unconditional surrender needs to give way to compromise by all parties involved.

To be fair, it's long past time to admit that terrorism isn't working. Or that violent oppression isn't bringing about the desired results. It's time for someone besides the bomb maker or the arms dealer to draw some kind of advantage from all this conflict of interest. Someone besides a wall builder needs to be employed in bringing about something resembling a normal society. Perhaps only in my dreams will people get past all the usual rhetoric and slogans and look each other in the eye and then, gasp!, communicate. Communicate, man to man, dropping all the preconceptions, prejudgments and labels and together create an inclusive plan that will foster a tide of goodwill that will lift all boats in this till now, dry harbor of broken promises and frustration.

I wish Condi Rice all the best in her latest attempt to make a difference in this troubled region. But, I'm already hearing the usual calls for leaving out those that won't capitulate to the will of the West as a precondition to participation. And here again, like where I started this essay I encourage a genuine Peace effort. An inclusive Peace will be the only lasting Peace. A Peace that brings all the factions together is the Peace that will quiet the Rockets and bombs. The Peace that will open up the roads and allow people to create economies. The Peace that opens and keeps them open, schools and institutions that will encourage people to make the most of their opportunity at life on this planet. Am I the only Egalitarian alive and writing these days?

Why is it only the voices of division and violence get heard? Why is it that these are always the voices in charge? Why can't people see that following these voices is what limits the potential of life on this planet. As an American I do have a stake in all this. Since my country has made it her business to sponsor a Zionist State. Let me just say that as an American, it was always my understanding that a solution strictly for the few against the many was never really a solution. Justice, Peace and Prosperity strictly for the few at the expense of many is doomed to fail. History bares this out, taking the long view, "You can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all of the people all the time."

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Gosh, I only wish my Abe Lincoln quote above was true. Sadly it appears that if you control the Media you can create any reality you choose and call it whatever you want to. The world is in fact controlled by the few. A few who really don't care if people are living in Peace and having opportunities to excel as individuals. But yet, perhaps it's not all bad this way. An economic Darwinism may be just the thing to bring out the best in a man as he competes for the things he needs or wants to survive. As a man I don't want anything handed to me. But still a reasonably level playing field is required. An expectation to be able to keep what I have is part of it. And most important, I must have enough Liberty to be able to play my particular permutation of the Game of Life. So something between the wild West and a Socialist Utopia is what I'm reaching for. So what's my point?

In the Mid East and the rest of the world for that matter it's time to aid the conditions that allow for more individuals to compete and play in the game of life. I'm right now having this dream of living in a world shared by all. Where the Banks and the Militaristic elites give way to a world maintenance organization that insures a reasonably level playing field with the least impingement upon the unfettered freedom of the individual. There is no justice without Peace, there is no Peace without Justice.

OH well, I'm a doodler, but it's fun. A classic definition of insanity is the expectation of different results from doing the same old things. This is what I wish for in the Mid East, that they will recognize their insanity and search for a new vision. And in this new vision may they find a new approach that perhaps will yield a new, more positive result. We can only hope and help if able.